Residents line to take nucleic acid tests in Debao county, Baise, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on February 6, 2022. Photo: VCG

With a permanent population of over 3.5 million, Baise in South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region asked all its residents to stay at home starting Monday, the first working day after Chinese Spring Festival holiday, to fend off the latest local COVID-19 flare-up. 

As of press time, Guangxi reported 99 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases from February 5 to 7, all in Baise. Samples from two confirmed cases have been tested as Omicron strains, and genetic testing is under way, the local authorities said at Monday's press briefing.

Baise is located about 120 kilometers from China-Vietnam border. 

The region has conducted three rounds of nucleic acid tests for key areas and key groups, with 688,600 tests completed. The first case was likely infected outside Guangxi, and all the cases are in the same transmission chain, according to the authorities.

Meng Xiaolong, a resident of Tiandong county in Baise, told the Global Times on Monday that his village has suspended public transportation and residents are not allowed to get in or out of the village unless necessary. "Large gatherings are not allowed. For instance, weddings or funerals need to be held in a simple way," Meng said, noting that the traffic lights have been turned red to remind residents not to drive outside except for special vehicles such as police cars and ambulances.

Meng believes the preventive measures have been conducted in an orderly manner so far, and the daily necessities are sufficient. 

Schools, training institutions and public transport will be suspended, according to local authorities.  Except for supermarkets, farmers' markets, hospitals and pharmacies, all other businesses will be closed.  Catering businesses will provide takeout delivery services.  

Besides purchases of daily necessities and nucleic acid testing, residents are required to stay home and delivery services are encouraged. Violators will be punished.  

A college student living in Baise who volunteered for anti-epidemic work said that the food supply is still ample without increases in prices.

Another resident living in the city's Debao county, which has recorded the most infections in the region, told the Global Times on Monday that people have remained calm as most families stored groceries during the Spring Festival.

Customs clearance services in Longbang and Pingmeng ports in Baise have been delayed due to the epidemic, and their resumption date will be announced later based on the epidemic situation, according to authorities.

Chen Peihui, a manager of the Guangxi Hesheng Customs Broker reached by the Global Times, said that their business such as the fruit trade has not been impacted as other ports still operate.

Liu Ning, Party chief of Guangxi, stressed on Sunday that all departments in the region should stay on high alert over the epidemic as the Spring Festival holiday has ended, and many people have returned to work. Liu called for a race against time to fight the virus in a fast, accurate and strict manner.

The railway departments in Baise have suspended all passenger services. 

A number of regions rolled out epidemic prevention measures in advance to ensure that the personnel flow would not result in another epidemic outbreak, as experts  noted that China will not adjust its dynamic zero-tolerance policy for now, because relying on vaccines alone cannot contain COVID-19. 

Hangzhou in East China's Zhejiang Province, which saw an infection surge of 114 cases over the past two weeks and brought it under control on Friday, announced that apart from those coming from medium- or high-risk regions, which are required to receive a 21-day quarantine, people only need to provide green health codes and negative nucleic acid tests results. Enterprises within the closed-off areas in Hangzhou will suspend operations and production. 

In Zhongshan, South China's Guangdong Province, some 1,200 migrant workers arrived in the city on chartered flights, and they were picked up by designated buses. The Guangzhou Daily reported on Monday that there are more than 1.8 million migrant workers in Zhongshan. In order to ensure a safe, rapid return of labor to their workplaces, local authorities arranged point-to-point flight, train, and bus pick-ups from other provinces. They will arrange two additional chartered flights and trains and over 140 buses from neighboring provinces in the coming days. 

Other provinces including Anhui, Sichuan, and Liaoning have also announced similar measures and arrangements for people traveling back to work as of press time.